E26 Edale Fieldwork Friday 17th

Sun, sun, sun!

The weather forecast for our fieldwork on Friday is looking lovely at 25 degrees C – a bit of cloud at first but then sunshine from midday onwards.

Please make sure that E26 come prepared for this with suncream, hat, and cool breathable clothing to cover shoulders and avoid sunburn – there is limited shade so students need to come prepared for the weather. Water is also essential – they need to have enough to last all day as there is nowhere to refill.

Please see the KIT LIST from the original website post for what to bring.

C24 (Year 11) Closing the circle: Final week plans for C24

It really is hard to believe that C24 are coming to the end of their XP/XPE journey. We would like to appreciate them all for their impeccable focus, behaviour and resilience during this exam period – they are making us proud until they very end!

After the final exam on Monday 27th June, we still have 4 precious days together before Y11 officially leave on the 1st of July.

Key dates:

Here are some key dates for the final week, with more details below:

28th June: Optional fieldwork to Malham Cove – Students have signed up to this already.

29th/30th June – Final Word appointments – schedule to be released. 

30th June: C24 Celebration Evening 5.30-7.30pm

1st July: Alton Towers

Malham Cove: 28th June

We have arranged to go back to where we first became Crew – Malham Cove – which seems a fitting place to close our crew circle and reflect on what crew has meant to us over the past 5 years. Please read the important information below:

All students need to be at school between 7.30-7.45am, ready for prompt departure at 8am, and we will return at approx. 5pm.

Any medication should be sealed in a bag with student’s name and dosage instructions and handed in to their Crew leader at registration. Please ensure your child takes any travel sickness medication and/or antihistamines (if required) before they get to school.

Here is the mandatory kit list for the day:

  • Trousers/knee length shorts suitable for walking – not cotton or denim as these are likely to get wet.
  • Comfortable/practical closed toed footwear – walking boots are best if available, but sturdy trainers are fine. No sandals or flip-flops!
  • A rucksack big enough to hold the following:
  • Pack-up lunch – please note that a lunch will be provided for those students in receipt of free school meals.
  • A large water bottle – please send with plenty of water, no fizzy drinks, sports/energy drinks or milkshakes.
  • Sunscreen and hat (we’re hoping for nice weather!)
  • A small towel.
  • Bin liner for wet clothes.
  • Spare dry trousers.
  • Spare dry top.
  • Spare dry socks and footwear – these can be open toed as they will only be for the coach ride home.

Celebration Evening: 30th June

On Thursday 30th June we would like to invite C24 and their families to a Celebration Evening. This will be held in The Lorax area at XP East, and will include our awards ceremony and buffet.

Look out for your formal invite later this week!

Alton Towers: 1st July

As a final hurrah (or should that be hur-aaarrrrgggghhhh!) we have arranged a trip to Alton Towers on the last day.

This is an optional visit and we are asking for a contribution of £8 towards the entry fee. This can be paid in cash to Mrs Parker or Miss Cocliff, or there will be an option to pay on ParentPay next week – we will let you know when that’s live. Students can take a packed lunch or money to buy lunch in Alton Towers.

So, lots to look forward to after the exams!

Mrs Parker and Miss Cocliff x

C24 (Y11) Leavers Hoodies!

We have managed to secure a supplier for C24’s leavers hoodies!

They will look similar to the one below – but our hoodies will be black, with orange writing (XP) and Blue writing (XPE).

Leavers’ hoodies will be £15 each and they are available to pre-order on ParentPay. We need orders by 4pm Thursday, 16th June please – we know this is a very tight turnaround, but this gives the supplier the time to make and deliver hoodies to us before July 1st. 

Sizing is as follows:

XS – to fit chest size 34″

S – to fit chest size 36″

M – to fit chest size 40″

L – to fit chest size 44″

XL – to fit chest size 48″

XXL – to fit chest size 52″

XXXL – to fit chest size 56″

4XL – to fit chest size 60″

5XL – to fit chest size 62″


Please make a note on the notes section of ParentPay for the size you require. Please note that orders cannot be made after Thursday 16th, and no hoodies will be ordered without payment in advance.

Mrs Parker & Miss Cocliff x 

E26 ‘Hold Back The River’ Peak District Fieldwork

Year 9’s current expedition ‘Hold Back the River’ has the guiding question, ‘how does water shape our world?’ 

During this expedition, our geography content is focusing on river characteristics from source to mouth, river processes, formation of landforms as well as the cause, impacts and responses of flooding. As part of this, we are applying the theory of river processes and characteristics to the field. 

On Friday 17th June, students will visit Edale in the Peak District, they will work together to collect data regarding the width, depth, velocity and load of rivers. We will also be capturing the beauty of a river by completing artwork.  This data collection will allow us to accept or reject our hypothesis once we have analysed our data in our maths lessons. 

Students will need to arrive at school no later than 8:15am so that the register and kit check can be completed before leaving school.

3 Peak District waterfall walks not to miss

It is also essential that all students bring all of the kit on the KIT LIST so that they are fully prepared for the fieldwork; this includes a packed lunch and water to drink. Students will need to ensure they have suitable walking boots/trainers as well as wellies or a pair of trainers they can get wet – we’ll be going in the river to collect the data!  If there are any problems in getting the appropriate kit before this, please email your child’s Crew Leader. 

Students will be returning to school for 3:15pm (if traffic allows). Please ensure that you complete the ‘Medical Form’ which will be given to students this week and return it to Crew Leaders/expedition teachers as soon as possible.

Many thanks in advance for your support with this!

Link to KIT LIST

Chocs away! C26 working hard to raise funds for Save The Children

Our C26 / Year 9 GCSE Spanish students have been working hard to promote a charity fundraising initiative in aid of Save The Children, as part of our current work on Fair Trade, social equity and child poverty in Latin America. This involved students embracing activism – by producing and displaying posters in both schools – leadership of the fundraising, and equity by ensuring that all of their peers had the opportunity to guess the number of Fair Trade chocolates in a jar. At £1.00 a go, the winner with the closest guess to the actual number of chocolates would get to keep them and the jar.

This afternoon we can reveal that Miss Cade and Crew DaVinci won the chocolates in XPE School, (split with Mr Voltaire and Mr Wilmot), and Imogen correctly guessed that there were 56 chocolates in XP School’s jar. As a result of our students’ compassion they raised a total of £60.77 for Save The Children. What a great way to end this term!

C24 (Y11) Finishing times this FRIDAY

Hi all,

Our super Y11s have been incredible during their GCSEs so far!

Due to TONNES of exams, and also half term approaching, C24 (Y11), and ONLY Y11, will have a finishing time straight after their morning exam. They will therefore all need to leave site at 11:30am. All other students are expected to stay until 1:30pm. 

There are also some revision sessions taking place for our Y11s over half term based in XP East:

DaySubjectTime
Monday 30th MayHistoryXP: 10am – 12pm
XPE: 1pm – 3pm
CitizenshipXPE: 10am – 12pm
XP: 1pm – 3pm
Thursday 2nd JuneEnglishXP/XP East: 9am-12pm 

Students should be continuing with their revision over half term – with some relaxation time, of course!

Have a lovely half term,

Mrs Parker & Miss Cocliff x

Crew Frank Blog!

These last few weeks in crew we have been thinking hard about our upcoming GCSEs and next steps. Watching the year 11’s has made us think about what we want our year 11 to look like and how we can get there. 

We decided we want our year 11 to feel like:

  • Our year 9
  • We don’t want to be stressed and worried
  • Organised

To be organised in year 11 we are going to ensure we stay on top of our work and plan our revision. 

We are going to be working hard to make sure we get there! 

Thomas and Mackenzie!

The beginning of the end for Crew Finch?!

How we started:

How we’re ending:

It’s been a funny old time for Crew Finch over the past couple of terms, with most of our crew sessions spent revising and preparing for GCSEs.

Having realised that this Friday’s afternoon crew session would be our last ‘proper’ crew until after exams finish, we decided to sack off revision spend it doing what we do best: just being together (and moaning at Mrs Parker for walking the long way round the lake!)

It feels like such a long time since we’ve had the chance to “just” spend time together. I think we all enjoyed our two precious hours of chatting and checking in (the donuts, chips and ice-cream were also a nice treat.)

We’re all very different people from that group who first circled up together on that very first day at Malham. And as we’ve changed over the years, crew and what it means to us has also evolved. As the pressure mounts in Y11, the afternoon we spent together away from school and exam timetables made us all realise that we actually need crew now more than ever.

So, although it may be the beginning of the end of our crew time in school, I really hope that all the unique experiences we’ve shared together as Crew Finch will continue to strengthen and support Mackenzie, Tom, Dakota, Thomas, Aden, Ali, Noah, Callie, Megan, Kobe, Libby, and Bryn as they embark on their next amazing adventure #onceacrewalwaysacrew #mrsparkerisnotallowedtocryyet

Forward thinking!

Over the past few weeks Crew have been thinking carefully about what they may like to do after their time at XP East. They have spent time researching different forms of education that are offered post 16. Many have looked into A-levels, apprenticeships, T-levels and BTEC options. This is all to support their next chapter at XP East when going on to year 10 and then 11. Some even revisited and added to their previous research on careers they may want to pursue. 

Crew Rowling also did a spot of litter picking during one of our afternoon sessions. It was great to see them working together as a team while looking after our environment and getting some fresh air!

We will update you more on the next steps towards GCSE’s in the coming weeks.

Mrs Barnes and Miss Johnson 🙂

E25 Spanish GCSE Product ‘Los medios”

Last term Year 10 worked hard to produce a product talking all about their family, freetime, and device preferences. They could take on a role with a fictional family, or describe their actual family, and redrafted to produce beautiful Spanish. XP school produced this for XPE Year 10, and vice versa. Take a look, and a listen, to their final product.